Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill is aiming to re-establish himself after signing with the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent.

Glen Farley The Enterprise @GFarley_ent

FOXBORO – A second-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2014 draft, Jeremy Hill broke into the NFL by rushing for 1,124 yards.

It’s been pretty much all downhill since then, though.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Hill tailed off to 794 yards in 2015, kicked back up a bit to 839 in 2016 but had only 116 in seven games (with a career-low 3.1-yard average) in a 2017 campaign he finished on the injured reserve list with an ankle.

Determined to be expendable by the Bengals, the Louisiana State University product is a Patriot now, having signed a one-year contract as an unrestricted free agent in March, looking for a fresh start.

“I got a call and they said they wanted me in on a visit, and I jumped on a plane as quick as I could,” Hill said while taking a break from the Patriots' voluntary offseason conditioning program at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday. “I’m excited about the opportunity.”

In New England, Hill has joined a backfield that lost its lead back, Dion Lewis, to Tennessee in free agency, but one that added Sony Michel as a first-round draft pick last Thursday to returnees James White, Mike Gillislee, Brandon Bolden (primarily a special teamer) and a former teammate of Hills with the Bengals, Rex Burkhead.

“For sure, it’s great. It’s high,” Hill said of the competition. “Obviously, those guys have played in Super Bowls and played at high levels, and played big in playoff games. So the competition is there, but I have a lot of faith in myself to go out there and compete at a high level as well. So, it will only bring the best out of all of us, and I think that’s how we want to approach every day, playing at a high level, all of us, and only good things can come of that.”

Hill played against the Patriots twice as a Bengal, gaining only 39 yards on 15 carries, just a 2.6-yard average, but catching four passes for 71 yards, one of those games being of particular note.

“Probably the most well-prepared team I’ve ever played,” said Hill. “Just defensively, offensively, low turnovers, low penalties, I mean it’s just really tough to beat teams like that and it’s going to be good to be on the other side of that. We got to be blessed with the ‘on to Cincinnati’ game and that didn’t go well (after a 41-14 loss at Kansas City in Week 4 of the 2014 season prompted head coach Bill Belichick to respond to repeated questions regarding the team by saying 'we're on to Cincinnati,' the Patriots turned around and routed the Bengals, 43-17, at Gillette) for us so it’s going to be good to be on the other side of that, but we’ve got to take it day by day and keep building up to that point."